 Walking football game | |
| Highest governing body | The Walking Football Association |
|---|---|
| First played | 2011 |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Mixed-sex | No |
| Type | Indoor or outdoor |
Walking football is a variant of association football invented in 2011 and is played by thousands of teams all over the UK.
It is aimed at keeping people aged over 50 involved with football if, due to a lack of mobility or for other reasons, they are not able to play the traditional game. [1] The sport can be played both indoors and outdoors. [2] Coverage of a walking football session initially believed to be an April Fools' joke, on Sky Sports News and in a documentary aired on Sky Sports Football in October 2017, led to several other clubs taking up this version of the game. [3] [4] It has since become a craze. [5] [6]
There are now thousands of teams and sessions all over the UK with players now featuring in over-50s, over 60s, over-65s, over-70s, and over-75s teams. The sport has also proved popular with women over 40.
Though based on association football (albeit with more than 50 differences), the key difference from standard football is that if a player runs then they concede a free kick to the other side. [7] [8] This restriction, together with a ban on slide tackles, is aimed both at avoiding injuries and facilitating the playing of the sport by those who are physically disadvantaged. [9] [8] The manner in which the sport is played promotes cardiovascular fitness whilst reducing stress on the body. [10] It also helps participants maintain an active lifestyle. [11]
In walking football the game was originally played without goalkeepers (though goalkeepers now play in some variations) and, crucially, the ball must never be kicked above head height. [12] Different footballs are used in the indoor and the outdoor variations of the sport. When played indoors, a size 4 futsal ball is used. Outdoor games involve a traditional football. The size of the pitch can vary to suit different locations. The length should be from 20 to 40 yards and the width between 15 and 30 yards. [13]
The sport was created in 2011 by John Croot, [14] but came to wider public attention in July 2014, when Barclays Bank aired a television advertisement featuring walking football to promote its services. [15]
Similar slower-paced sports include walking netball, [16] walking rugby, [17] walking basketball, [18] walking hockey (based on field hockey) [19] and walking cricket. [19]
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own goal ring. It is one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls and remains primarily played by them, on indoor and outdoor courts, especially in schools and most popularly in the Commonwealth of Nations.
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In the United Kingdom, sporting events are broadcast on several national television networks, as well as radio. Many of the sporting events are listed online or in different kind of apps. These apps are mainly designed by sport fans who want to have an easy way to find when a certain game or match is played, as well as when a race starts or which channel is broadcasting the olympic games etc.
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Sky Sport is a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by New Zealand's satellite pay-TV company, Sky.
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football generally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly called football include association football ; Australian rules football; Gaelic football; gridiron football ; International rules football; rugby league football; and rugby union football. These various forms of football share, to varying degrees, common origins and are known as "football codes".
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Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group, and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of British sport since 1991, and has sometimes played a large role inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts, most notably when it encouraged the First Division to break away from the Football League to form the Premier League in 1992.
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Walking netball is a version of netball adapted to be a slower game and thus more inclusive, allowing older or less fit people to continue playing, return to playing, or take up netball for the first time. The main differences in the rules are that running and jumping are not allowed, that an extra step may be taken with the ball, and that the ball may be held for 4 seconds instead of 3 seconds. A walking netball programme was first developed in England in 2017, as a collaboration between England Netball and the charity Age UK. It is played in countries including England, Australia and New Zealand.
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